Michael Douglas is returning to work with Oliver Stone nearly four decades after Wall Street.
The Oscar-winning actor, 81, is joining the director’s first narrative feature in 10 years alongside Willem Dafoe, Ellen Barkin, Homer Gere and Yvonne Chapman.
Oliver, 79, has completed principal photography on White Lies, a long-gestating project filmed across Europe and Asia. The drama stars Josh Hartnett in the lead role and marks Oliver’s first fiction feature since Snowden in 2016.
The film reunites Oliver with both Michael, who won an Academy Award for Wall Street, and Willem, who previously collaborated with the director on Platoon and Born on the Fourth of July.
Oliver said in a statement: “The cast was a delight from beginning to end. And the Italian crew was the warmest I ever worked with. I’m profoundly grateful for this opportunity.”
The film has been described as a more intimate work than many of Oliver’s politically charged dramas.
In a recent interview with Variety, Oliver described White Lies as “a personal story about people and relationships”.
A press release announcing the casting said the film is “a departure from his past work, offering an intimate and provocative drama that explores family, loss, pain and uncovers how love can change shape during our lifetimes”.
White Lies follows Jack Freeman, played by Josh, a child of divorce who finds himself repeating the mistakes of his parents in his own marriage and family life.
According to the synopsis, he embarks on “a lust-filled journey to escape – only to find himself more lost than before” before meeting a woman whose life contrasts sharply with his own.
The project adds another major title to Michael’s extensive career.
He remains best known for his Oscar-winning performance as Gordon Gekko in Wall Street, one of Oliver’s defining films, as well as acclaimed roles in Fatal Attraction, Basic Instinct and Wonder Boys.
More recently, Michael drew attention for his portrayal of Benjamin Franklin in the Apple TV+ historical drama Franklin and for discussing the possibility he may be scaling back his acting commitments after more than five decades in the industry.
For Willem, the casting follows a prolific run of acclaimed performances.
The four-time Oscar nominee received widespread praise for Poor Things and has remained a fixture in major productions following memorable roles in Platoon, The Florida Project and The Last Temptation of Christ.
He is also recognised globally for playing Norman Osborn, also known as the Green Goblin, in the Spider-Man franchise.
Ellen’s screen credits include Diner, Sea of Love, This Boy’s Life and the television drama Animal Kingdom.
Homer, the son of Richard Gere, has recently attracted attention through projects including The Shards and Euphoria, while Yvonne is known to audiences for her role in Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Producer Fernando Sulichin said in a statement: “We are immensely proud of what Oliver, his cast and crew have accomplished. It was thrilling to reunite Oliver with Willem and Michael, two extraordinary actors who starred in his iconic films Platoon and Wall Street respectively, and to see him work with Ellen, whom he has known and admired for many years. It has also been a joy to see Oliver work with the amazingly talented Homer and Yvonne for the first time. We look forward to bringing this film to audiences worldwide.”
